Aaranya Kaandam

A bizarre trailer, a debut director, award-winner of an international film festival, a battle with the censor board and a college dropout- these elements being attached to the film made me hope for nothing short of great. If a person believed so much in his craft, he was probably an anarchist who followed his own set of rules and that kind of a person obviously wouldn't be restricted by the boundaries of Tamil Cinema.

Aaranya Kaandam's director Thiagarajan Kumararaja uses his technical crew in all possible ways. Being the competent crew that they are, they comply. The film is so unconventional that despite the excellent work of the cinematographer (Vinod), editors (Praveen K L and N B Srikanth) and the music director (Yuvan Shankar Raja), none of their individual contributions stand out. It was teamwork and you praise the man who has directed them into completion. Thiagarajan has a clear-cut vision- the characters, their quirks, their looks and their distinct speech styles. Lacing terror with scornful humour, Aaranya Kaandam leaves its viewers with mixed emotions. The gang wars that are shot in stop-motion have classical music playing in the background giving them the poetic touch intended and bring out the beauty of the scenes, even though they're blood lusted. The low-key lighting and the dubious backdrop make Aaranya Kandam the morbid labyrinth it wants to be.

Full review- http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/6425/tamil/aaranya- kandam/3150/review.htm

I have seen many gangster movies in Tamil and other languages. Some of the good movies i watched so far is Nayagan, Pudhupettai,God father series, City of God.

But this movie is something different from others. How it differs? By making? or by acting? or By Screen play. No.. No... No.. It differ by its nature of theme. It deals different kind of persons attitude in this film. Director hardly worked for the very good outcome of the product.Each and every character in the film lives its own. They are real.. Still Such a kind of peoples lives with us.

I don't want explain much about this movie. Go and Watch.. or Buy the DVD. Feel the Every character described in this movie...

My Rating 10/10

Thiagarajan Kumararaja has given us a gangster movie which stands out with its realistic portrayal and no-nonsense treatment. Good performances, effective duologue's, slick editing and amazing camera- work help the movie stand out from the crowd. AK as film in its making and treatment is styled very similar to internationally known directors in this genre like Tarantino and Inarritu.

It is tough to believe that 'Aaranya Kaandam' is the debut effort of the director, who had earlier written the duologue's for another Chennai-based film 'Oram Po'. The finesse he displays in his writing and his directorial touches give ample evidence of his capabilities. 'Aaranya Kaandam' definitely marks the beginning of a new chapter in Tamil cinema.

I usually don't write reviews, because I feel, the reviews of a film I have watched which are already available are true and I couldn't write better.

But this time, I've decided to step it up and write a review because I feel, this movie deserves one and the reviews out there are good but very few indeed.

So, Aaranya Kaandam written and directed by first timer Thiagarajan Kumararaja and produced by S.P.Charan's Capital Film Works is an experimental gangster flick to say the least. But that's just the style of the film but to state the goodness of the film, I think it should be among the top films of the year because it keeps you entertained till the very end. For those who have been following this film from the time it won the grand Jury award at the South Asian Film Festival, you would know the difficulties this film had undergone pre-release. Frankly speaking, I was not surprised to see the vacant seats in the theater because this film is clearly for mature audience and lover of pure- cinema and not for the masses.

To start with the plot, it is a simple story about a gangster head Singaperrumal, played with class by yest year heartthrob, Jackie Shroff on a conflict which arises with his senior henchman, Pasupathy,once again played superbly by Sampath Raj on a dealing of cocaine and several other parallel tracks and motives. As the trailer correctly stated, it is about the decisions each of the six protagonists make and how it affects the plot.

There is no single-hero in this film, but if I were to select a hero, I would definitely give it to the superb script by the director. The director has avoided all clichés and given us a somewhat unpredictable film. The dialogue especially is very simplistic, at the same time realistic and humorous at times. The climax is hard hitting and definitely not expected.

I am not sure if You can call this film as a noir, but the lighting and camera suggests so. Commendable camera work by P.S.Vinod and editing by Praveen and Srikanth keeps the film's raciness and edginess to it.

One of the biggest advantages of the film is the music by the always dependable Yuvan Shankar Raja which has a Kill-Bill feel to it. Avoiding Ear impairing background and giving us a more mature score, Yuvan has not disappointed us and coping up for the lack of songs(i dint want them though).

This film has Tarantino written all over it. With the quirkiness, Dark tone and the parallel story lines, this film takes its time to unfold which is sort of an advantage and disadvantage at the same time. I had a lot of expectations for this film and I wasn't disappointed. Though it gets predictable at times, for the most part its ahead of you.

In the acting department, everyone has an important role to play and everyone has done a neat job with special mention to the son played by the Master Vasanth who has done his role without any hesitation.

In the words of my idol, I'm going with 3 and a half out of five for Aaranya Kaandam. It is only for the mature audiences and it puts Tamil Cinema back on track at the global stage.

"Aaranya Kaandam" is a story about drug trafficking and unfolds over a duration of 24 hours. The movie is based on the significant moments in the lives of the seven leading characters. It is supposedly the first new-noir film in Tamil cinema. This was one of the most awaited movies for me and it was released after almost a year of tribulations with the censor board. It won the Grand Jury award in South Asian International Film Festival last year.

The film is about narcotics and a convoluted rivalry between Singaperumal (Jackie Shroff), Gajendran (Rambo Rajkumar) and Pasupathi (Sampath Raj) attempts to grab it. The Director, Thiagarajan Kumararaja, builds up a nice tempo and takes his own time to build and establish each character.

Jackie Shroff in the character of dreadful Singam Perumal has performed outstandingly. His performance was close to perfection in many scenes, every scene of his brimming with reality.Ravi Krishna has been given a complete image makeover when compared to his earlier ventures. He has improved his acting skills a lot and portrayed emotions well on screen. Ravikrishna as Sappa ( a metaphor of fun, impotence, illiteracy…etc) will be remembered as one of the most interesting roles in his career. Sampath Raj did well and his body language, dialogue delivery boosts the mood of the film. In his intro-scene, his voice was so manly that it gave me goosebumps. He was at his best, performing with perfection throughout. Yasmeen Ponnappa is tailor-made for the character of Subbu (Subbulakshmi). Somasundaram, Rambo Rajkumar, Ajay Raj are adequate. Another character worthy of mention is the boy Kodukapuli ("Veyil" Vasanth) who deserves appreciation for his acting. His (kodukapuli) chemistry with Somasundaram (kaalayan) was highly impressive. Vinod's camera has captured the darker sides of city life well and his sense of lighting has worked wonders in bringing the right mood. Yuvan Shankar Raja has given us fantastic re-recording and background score which gave the right feel. He deserves all the praises he's been getting since the release of the film. The use of old songs in the background for some scenes that depict the mood in the scene is smart (don't know whether it was director's idea or Yuvan's) .Editing by the duo Praveen K. L. and N. B. Srikanth are crisp.

It is certainly not a movie for children or family audiences, for its highly stylised violence (Quentin Tarantino-ish) and abusive language. Thiagarajan Kumararaja has made a mighty impressive debut with a tight screenplay and superb dialogue writing. Even though many critics felt the film to be slow, I felt editing even a single scene would have dramatically brought down the effect on the audiences. Even though there were a large number of foul mouthed dialogues, they blended well with the screenplay. Others were voluntarily beeped by the team. The casting was simply perfect and acting was impeccable.

"Aaranya Kaandam" was a classy gangster tale and the way it has been conceptualized, executed definitely needs recognition. Hope Aaranya Kaandam becomes a trend setter for the new movies to come. Thiagarajan Kumararaja is a rare find and kudos to SP Charan and Capital film works for bringing him in to the realm of Tamil Cinema. Producer SPB Charan's bravery should be appreciated for producing such films (Previous CHENNAI-600028). He struggled a lot for releasing the film. #Alwaysrespect .But the sad part of Tamil cinema is that brilliant efforts like this are hardly noticed as it does not have the required masala ingredients packaged in it.